Last Sacrifice: my version
by Belikovbabe
Summary: This is what I think Last Sacrifice will be like. Rose faces so many struggles- some are a matter of life and death. I might be totally off with this story...but oh well! Enjoy  All content belongs to Richelle Mead.
1. I'm gonna die

please review! Thanks and enjoy!...dont worry the story will get better and more actiony...if thats a word... :)

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I sat behind bars still confused at the situation. I couldn't believe that I was being framed for killing the Queen, and that Lissa had a mystery sibling. My life was so messed up right now.

"Rose?" I looked up when I heard Lissa's voice from the other side.

"Hey." I said with a sigh. Great, another visitor. My _loving_ mother had already visited me, along with Abe, my very strange-yet like me- father.

Lissa leaned against the wall after compelling the guards to leave for a few minutes.

"I miss you." She said. I walked over to the bars and held her hands in mine.

"I miss you too." I said.

"This is ridiculous. I know you didn't do it, but…their evidence…" her voice trailed off.

"I know. They have great evidence, but I promise you that I did not kill her. What would I get out of killing her? It's not like I would get the throne or anything…I would just get…killed." I released her hands. Lately I have been living a horrible life, and what do I get? I get accused of committing a murder that I didn't even do nor have any part in.

"I won't let them do anything to you. No matter what it takes, I will get you out of this. I owe this to you after all the things you have helped me with." She said with tears welling up in her beautiful green eyes.

"I would love if there was something you could do, but there isn't. I am going to die, and I have to face that fact. I have to make that _last sacrifice_ and surrender my life so that our world can go on without me holding it back."

"No! Stop saying that!" Lissa said. "Too many people love you. And they are not going to let you give up without a fight." I put my hand up to stop her.

"But I have no more reason to live anymore. I can't be your guardian because everyone thinks I am a murderer, I have already brought back Dimitri, and he won't even consider loving me again. I am screwed and so is my life. I don't know if I can handle all of this stress anymore." I blurted out wiping a tear of my own from my eye.

"Princess Vasilisa, Lord Conta would like to speak to you." A red haired guardian poked his head around the door and called for Lissa. He reminded me a lot like Mason…

Lissa nodded then gave my hand a soft squeeze before leaving. Her eyes showed true determination but through the bond I could feel weariness. I knew she would try to help me, but at the moment, the only person I could rely on was Abe.

A half an hour went passed so I decided to let myself slip into Lissa's head. She still considered it an evasion of privacy, but when you are alone in a cell, you kinda get desperate.

Through her eyes I saw her knocking on a door with the number 45 on it. It wasn't long until someone answered the door. There, stood Dimitri. His long brown hair was pulled up into a lose ponytail, and his brown eyes lit up at the sight of me…I mean Lissa.

"Come in." He opened the door wide for her and she let herself in. I was glad to see that he was no longer being confined into a single cell. Now, I knew how he had felt before…except he was treated like a freak science experiment, where as I was being treated like some kind of insane serial killer. It seemed sorta ironic that I got put in the cell _he used_ to be in.

Lissa sat on the sofa and she fidgeted with her fingers.

"Umm, Dimitri?" she soon said after thinking about her words. He stared at her admiringly and I could tell that I was rolling my _own_ eyes.

"Yes?" he asked with a slight smile. Lissa bit her lip then said,

"You know how you said you would do anything for me since you 'owe' me?" Dimitri nodded so Lissa continued. "Well, I need to ask a favor of you."

"Anything…" he said. His smile broadened.

"I need you to talk to Rose."

"…except that." He said. Just like that his smile disappeared.

"Dimitri, please! Just talk to her! She gave up, and is easily accepting the consequences of being killed and I want her to keep fighting. I think by her realizing what she will be leaving behind, she will try harder." Right now, I really wished I could talk to her through the bond. I wanted to tell her that it was stupid and useless trying to get him to help. It would never work. This one way bond talking thing was really getting on my nerves.

"Okay. This is only for you though." Dimitri's words surprised me out of Lissa's head, if that were possible. Once again I looked out of my own brown eyes and found myself staring down at the plain white tiled floor of my jail cell. Dimitri was finally going to talk to me willingly. Still though, I didn't think that he could do much to make me try harder. I knew that there was a 99% chance of me being executed so I did not strive to make that 1% chance happen. I know giving up was very un-Rose like, but I knew I was defeated…I knew there was nothing left that I could do.

Having nothing better to do I allowed myself to slowly fall asleep on the thin mattress they provided me. It wasn't long before I heard footsteps growing louder. I sat up and brushed the long strands of my dark brown hair from my face. I had already noticed that my dark skin was getting paler. From the lack of sunlight I had or the knowledge of my death approaching- I had no idea. Speaking of sunlight, I had no freaking idea what time it was seeing as there were no clocks or windows.

I let my eyes gain focus before actually looking at the person who had advanced towards me. He stood perfectly still and his eyes wondered around the room, never meeting my gaze.

"Look, I know Lissa sent you, but you came and now you can leave. Your words are not going to make me try harder in the trial. I am going to lose, so there is no point in denying them. Their evidence is solid." I yawned then let myself fall back onto the bed. I haven't slept that long in the two days I had been in the cell, and the lack of sleep was catching up on me.

"What happened to you?" Dimitri whispered more to himself than to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I slid my blanket over my body and curled up in my bed.

"The Rose I knew would never give in without a fight."

"Really? Because when we were talking outside and all those guards came for me I let them take me…it was _you_ who fought, not me."

"But they can't do this to you. You didn't do it." Dimitri's eyebrows came together like he was trying to figure out how to save me.

"Actually they can do this to me, and thank you for stating the obvious that I didn't do it." I said through gritted teeth. I wasn't trying to sound mean towards Dimitri, but the fact that you are going to die doesn't really put you in the best mood. My eyelids slowly closed but I still listened to what Dimitri had to say.

"Lissa told me what you did to get me back to a dhampir…I had no idea…I thought it was all her…"

"Even though I didn't kill the Queen I should still be punished for breaking a criminal out of Tarasov to save you."

"No you shouldn't. You did that for good reason…you did that to save me, and I hadn't realized what you went through. I owe you, just as much as I owe Lissa-"

"But, you still don't love me." I stated as my eyes fluttered back open. I sighed knowing what he would say.

"No." A heavy silence fell upon us. It was Dimitri who finally broke it. "Wait, I have an idea." he paced back and forth along the bars of my cell.

"What is it?" I finally asked. My patience was never good.

"I could say_ I_ did it." His gaze finally met mine. Even with the little energy I had, I shot up out of my bed.

"What! Are you out of your mind?" I yelled. Ignoring me, Dimitri went on.

"That would work perfectly. They still don't believe me that I am 100% dhampir, so if I acted dangerous again, they would believe me that I killed her." He talked to himself.

"No, I would never let you do that! If you sacrificed yourself for me, then everything I did to get you back would be pointless. You _cannot_ die just after you've gotten your soul back." I said sternly, pressing my face up to the bars.

"But I owe you." He said as he walked up to me.

"But not in this way. You can…I don't know…you can pay me back a different way." Dimitri's hand went to my hair. He always looked for ways of touching it. I didn't blame him though…I had pretty goddamned hair. He swept the hair from my face then said softly,

"I won't let them hurt you, Roza." As much as I loved him, I was really pissed that he was touching me and calling me "Roza" when he did not love me. Then the doors swung open and Dimitri immediately stepped away from me. When I looked to my left I saw Mikhail enter the room. He glanced around and saw Dimitri.

"Oh…I guess I will just leave for now-" I put my hand up to stop him.

"No, its fine. We're finished here." I said. Dimitri's soft eyes looked hurt at me pushing him away. He strode out of the room with his head down.

"How are you doing?" Mikhail asked. Ever since I have been in this jail cell, Mikhail visited me each night. I am not really sure why, but I had taken a liking toward him and his presence always cheered me up. He was the only person I had told about the note that the Queen had written. I hadn't even told Lissa.

"Oh I am great! This single jail cell has fantastic entertainment and a lovely view!" I spoke with as much sarcasm as I could muster, gesturing around me. Mikhail chuckled. He sat against the wall and faced me.

"So do you have any idea of who it could be?" He asked turning serious.

"Who? The person who is framing me or who Lissa's sibling is?" I asked exasperated.

"Either one." Mikhail answered.

"For the framers all I thought of was Victor Dashkov, or one of the Queens guardians. As for Lissa's siblings…well, I have no idea."

"Nor do I. Anyway, why do you think that Victor did it?" he asked.

"Well, I remember him saying stuff like: 'There are other ways of taking power' and 'The greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly, hidden in the shadows. Remember that.'" I told Mikhail. Victor had told me all of this before all of his trials when he was being kept at the academy. His words had sent chills down my spine, and they still did.

"You have some valid points, but I am not sure if they will believe you."

"Of course they won't believe me. And even if they do, they need someone to be punished, so everyone thinks that they are safe. Seeing as no one knows where Victor is, I am the only option left." I said. Mikhail dropped his head in his hands.

"Do you have any evidence for your alibi if they ask you?" Mikhail asked. I thought for a moment knowing that I had evidence…I just didn't know if I should tell Mikhail. _Oh, what the hell would it matter? I am going to die no matter what._

"Well, I do have something. Please don't think badly of me if I tell you though…" he nodded so I brushed my hair from my neck and showed him the bite mark Adrian had given me.

"Oh…" He bit his lip. "Was that given to you when the Queen was being murdered?" I nodded my head. "Okay, so then you could just get the person who bit you to tell them that he did that when Queen Tatiana was dying."

"My thoughts exactly." I said. "But I don't want to put this person's ego in jeopardy." I thought of Adrian and his relation to the Queen.

"Rose…its either this person's ego or your life. Personally, I would go with the first choice." He said. I laughed in spite of myself. If I told mine and Adrian's secret, at least the Queen couldn't yell about it to me.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that your next trial is tomorrow morning."

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, apparently they really want to get this over with. I think it is mostly just because the quicker this happens, the sooner everybody starts to relax."

"I guess so." I said. Mikhail looked down at his watch then back to me.

"Well, I have to go. Some guardians are having a meeting." He stood up and walked towards the door. Just as he was about to open it I called back to him.

"If I ever get out of this, I am going to help you find Miss Karp and bring her back. No matter what." I said smiling at him. He smiled back, and without another word he left the room.

Even with my tired state, I was awake all night. This last trial was my final chance.

It was the final line between life and death…


	2. The final trial

Sorry it has taken me so long to update! Oh, and it will get more exciting after this chapter...I promise! :D

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The trial was only minutes away and my nerves were taking over. I was walking over to the courtroom –highly guarded- when Adrian approached me.

"Hey little dhampir." He whispered to me as he slung his arm on my shoulders. I really have no idea how he got past all of the guardians. "Show them the mark today. You need an alibi…and well, everyone already knows about my reputation. They would definitely believe that I did that to you."

"But there's no point. I gonna lose so-" I started.

"No! You won't lose. I won't let you."

"Thank you, but-"

"Adrian, may I talk to Rose for a minute." Abe's voice came from behind. Adrian nodded his head then walked off into the courtroom.

"Hey zemy." I said. He rolled his eyes as we entered the courtroom too. We took our seats at the front where my mother sat.

"Rose, if you are ever unsure of how to answer a question, just look at me. I will try to guide you. Oh and try to match your story with others so that it seems like you are telling the truth. And most importantly, I know that you have a past of…let's just say- of throwing tantrums. Just make sure that you don't have a fit today. That will make you lose your case like that." Abe snapped his fingers. I looked around the courtroom, and a very sick feeling crossed my stomach.

"Rose, are you okay?" My Janine asked from beside Abe. I swallowed then nodded my head slowly. Abe talked more to me, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other. I fidgeted with my hands and they turned sweaty. In fact, my whole body felt like it was on fire. I felt like I was going to throw up. Then somebody's hand touched my shoulder and I jumped. Before I was blocking people out, so when Lissa touched me, I was scared.

"Shit Liss! You scared the crap out of me." I said. Suddenly her emotions clouded mine. Extreme worry was the main emotion. She stared at me wide eyed and confused.

"Rose, I've been sitting here practically the whole time." She whispered as more people shuffled in.

"Oh…sorry." I said. Just when I was about to say more, the judges voice rang out.

"We are here today to finalize the trial for Miss Rosemarie Hathaway- former student at , and now an unemployed guardian." The judge continued. "She has recently been held responsible for Queen Tatiana's death. The charges will be execution if the defendant is found guilty. However, if the defendant is found innocent, then all charges shall be erased." The rest of the trial was a blur to me. People went up to talk to either testify for me, or against me. The majority had strong feelings for me being executed but-

"Miss Hathaway, please come up to the stand." My thoughts were interrupted by the judge's voice, which was hard and cold…and almost tired, like she knew this was a waste of her time.

I stood up after giving Lissa a quick squeeze, and sat back down at the stand. That's when the questioning started. I had to remember what Abe had said. He had mentioned that I stick with other's stories and that if I was ever unsure of a question to just look over to him. Most of the questions were the same ones as the first trial, but some were different.

"Where were you when Queen Tatiana's murder occurred?" A lanky man walked back and forth in front of me, while writing and reading things on a notebook.

"I was in my room." I said. The lack of detail didn't seem to please the man asking the questions.

"Was anybody with you at this time?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Adrian Ivashkov." I answered. Heads turned to the back where Adrian sat looking straight at me. I knew he was trying to convey a message, but I ignored it.

"Was anyone else in your room?"

"No."

"And, what were you and Mr. Ivashkov doing?" He asked. I bit my lip and looked over at Abe. He nodded his head as if to tell me, 'Tell him the truth.'

"Just talking." I said. That was the truth…even though I was leaving something out.

"About?" He prompted. I thought back to what had been said between us. Finally I remembered.

"We had been talking about Lissa, and her family,…and our relationship." They could take the 'relationship' part however they wanted. It sounded like it was my relationship with Lissa, but it was actually my relationship with Adrian. As for the family, they probably just thought it was about her dead parents and brother, but it was actually about the person who was taking money from Lissa's account.

"Do you have any proof of this alibi?" He asked. Damn it! What should I say?

"No. I-" I began. Adrian cut me off though.

"Yes she does." I looked over to him and saw him standing. The judge gave him a sour look and said,

"You may not speak without permission, Mr. Ivashkov."

"But, she has a bite-"

"Enough!" For that one second I actually liked the judge. It looked like Adrian's reputation would not be ruined tonight. Suddenly, all liking I had for the judge faded. "You will have your turn to speak after Miss Hathaway here is done."

"Oh, we are done here, Judge Truman." The man who had questioned me spoke up from where he stood in front of me.

"Then, Adrian Ivashkov, please come up to the stand." Judge Truman said. I got up and walked back to my original seat after giving Adrian a pleading look. He knew very well what I was pleading him to do…or well, what not to do. I didn't think he would listen to me though.

"Where were you when the Queen's murder occurred?" The questioning started again. Adrian scoffed at the question, knowing that I had already answered that question for him. The questioning went on, and it was practically the same as my questioning…but Adrian's answers weren't always the same…

"Do you have any proof for your alibi?" The man asked. I glanced at Adrian, but he wasn't looking at me.

"Yes."

"And what would that be?"

"She has a bite mark on her neck…where I had bit her." There were a few gasps- one which belonged to Lissa.

"Rose?" Lissa whispered beside me. I couldn't look at her though. I was too embarrassed.

"Did she receive that bite mark when the Queen was being killed?"

"Yes." I looked around to see others expression. Only one expression caught my attention.

Dimitri sat in the very back, alone. His jaw was clenched and his lip sat in a thin line. His face showed something I had never seen before…jealously. No it couldn't be! Dimitri can't be jealous. Finally our eyes met. Even though he didn't say it yet, I could tell he loved me. A grim smile formed on my face and I turned back around to face Adrian.

"Miss Hathaway, will you please come here." The Judge said. Slowly I got back up and brushed the hair from my neck. The bite mark was still there, but it was fading. The judge and the lanky man examined my neck before gesturing me to sit back down.

After a few more minutes, Adrian was dismissed and Abe came up to testify for me. I was very thankful I had him (though I would never tell him that) because he was good at testifying.

Suddenly, a hand was on mine. I looked over into my favorite brown eyes.

"Can I tell them it was me? Please." Dimitri begged quietly.

"No. I'm not worth it."

"Yes you are." He said. Then he started to stand up. Guardian reflexes kicked in, and I grabbed his arm and yanked him back down.

"Please. Don't." Now I was begging. He leaned towards me, still hand in hand and said,

"But you have barely lived you life. I have already had two. You don't deserve to die right now."

"This is my second life too!" I said, recalling the accident. "I was supposed to die then. In the accident. And we are not that far in age, so don't even say that I have barely lived compared to you." I knew I had a good argument, and I knew that he knew it too. I released his hand when he finally relaxed in his chair. He surprised me when he did not pull his head away. Instead, he just stared into my eyes. I was the one to pull away when someone jerked me from my stupor. Mikhail.

"Rose. I have an idea of who killed the Queen."

"This isn't really good timing." I whispered softly.

"Ambrose." He continued. "He is the only person who could've gotten the Queen alone." He had a good theory going on, but it wasn't enough evidence.

"Why would he want to kill the Queen?...And frame me?" I asked.

"Wait…wasn't Ambrose 'gone' for a while?" Dimitri asked. I nodded my head.

"This is not something we should talk about right now."

"Alright. The jury has reached a verdict." The judge's words rang in my head and I turned towards her. The knots in my stomach suddenly got tighter. Dimitri squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. I probably squeezed a little too hard.

"Miss Rosemarie Hathaway has been found _guilty_, and will be executed tomorrow at 1 pm." I didn't remember anything that happened to me after that. I didn't know how I ended up back in my jail cell, or anything. I knew that I would have been found guilty, but the full impact didn't hit me until just now. The judge's words, flowed through my mind, and it became like a bad song that was stuck in my head. It replayed itself over and over and over again. 'executed', 'guilty', '1 pm'.

I also remember a rampage starting after the judge declared me guilty. Tasha, Abe, Lissa, Adrian, Dimitri, Janine, and even Christian were shouting out protests while others shouted back. At least they were on my side. Unfortunately, 7 people were not enough to change everyone else's minds.

To my surprise, I slept. It was probably the middle of the night for vampires, when I heard grunting. I listened harder and I heard someone was fighting others. I sat upright in my bed as I heard the door to the prison swing open. Someone appeared. It looked like a man to me, but I couldn't tell who it was at all. He was dressed in all black. He even had a black mask and black gloves. I couldn't see any of his skin since it was all covered in clothes. There was also a stake in his hand, so all thoughts of him being a strigoi were erased from my mind.

"What the hell?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Then the man put his stake to work. He hit the bars of my cell repeatedly until finally, there was a big enough space for me to fit into. I walked away from the hole as much as possible, while still being confined into the jail cell. I looked around for a weapon, but there was none. I would just have to rely on my fists and feet. Then I thought again, and realized that weapons might be unnecessary. I mean, this guy had just hit a hole in my cell which would help me escape my death tomorrow. Or maybe, this guy was a killer and just couldn't wait until tomorrow to see me dead…


	3. mystery man

Finally I decided I should just wait to see what he was going to do.

The man gestured to me to follow him.

"Who are you?" I asked him. I still hadn't followed him out. The man put a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. But really, since when do I listen to people?

"I'm not coming until you tell me who you are." I put my hands on my hips waiting for an answer. Then the man crawled into the cell with me, and immediately I went into attack position. When he didn't do anything, I came at him. All he did was dodge me. I repeated this, and I landed some blows on him, but he never hit me back. After a while, it became clear that the mystery guy did not want to fight, so eventually I relaxed a little.

Suddenly, I heard knocking on a door. Then, in those few seconds I had been looking away from the man, he lunged at me. Before I could do anything, he had his arms holding me and a hand over my mouth to smother my screaming. I tried to wriggle out from his grip, but there was no use.

He carried me through the hole in the bars, and led me out a different door than he had come into. I tried to scream louder, but no one would've heard it, thanks to his hand.

He brought me to the gates of the Royal Court and led me out of the wards. Great! Now if strigoi attacked, I would be defenseless.

There was no way out of his grip, so instead I tried to think of who the mystery man could be. Automatically I thought of Victor Dashkov. I had never heard of him after we lost him and Robert. That thought scared me- a criminal being on the loose with his crazy spirit user brother.

I tried to think of other people who it could be. I also thought of Abe…or maybe one of his henchmen. Abe had mentioned that he would not lose this case because he did not want me to die. Seeing as he did not win, maybe he thought that this was the only way that I could've been saved from execution.

Other than Victor and Abe, no one came to mind. Victor and strigoi were my only two enemies right now. I had already eliminated strigois. And now I was starting to eliminate Victor. This man had muscle and he could fight me. Victor Dashkov is an old man who never had muscle or the strength to constrict me.

We walked further and further away from the Royal Court and as I looked back I could see commotion happening there. It was about an hour later when we reached the man's destination.

He brought me into the middle of some forest trees that blocked almost all of the sunlight. The guy loosened his grip on me and turned me to face him. Then his hand left my mouth, and that's when I started screaming.

"Ahhhhhhh! Help!" I yelled. Suddenly his hand was back on my mouth. He brought his other hand up to his own face. Slowly he pulled off his mask.

"Shh! We have to be quiet." Then his hand fell from my mouth.

"Dimitri?" I whispered. Dimitri never came to mind when I tried to think of who the mystery man was. "Why in the hell would you do this?" I asked as he placed both hands on my shoulders.

"Because I didn't want you…because I didn't want Lissa to be sad from your death. I don't think she would know how to live by herself if you were to die.

"Well either way, she is going to have to learn to live by herself because the Royal Court will find me. I know they will. And even if they never find me, it will be like she _is_ living alone, because I won't be there with her." I said sternly. Dimitri let go of my shoulders and thought for a minute.

"Well, maybe we could find who really did kill the Queen." He said after a few silent minutes. For the first time in a while, his eyes met mine, and I looked away. I couldn't bear to look into the eyes of the man I love, when I could never be with him.

"But we don't even know who it could be. And besides, whoever it is is probably too close to the Royal Court for us to risk." I said. He knew I had a point. "Oh and thanks for not telling them that you killed the Queen."

"You're welcome…although, it would have saved me from doing all of this." He gestured to his outfit and the trees surrounding us.

"Hey! I never said that you had to do this. I rather be back in that jail cell, waiting for my death. I rather be taking it like a man…I mean woman, and not be running away from my problems."

"It's not usually good to be running away from your problems, but this is different. This is a problem that was going to kill you, and if running is the only thing you can do to save yourself, then you should run."

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well, I brought this for you." Said Dimitri. He then pulled a silver stake from his coat pocket and handed it to me.

"Thanks, but if they find me, I am just gonna let them take me. It's kinda useless to fight them."

"You have to try…for now though, I think we should sleep here until morning. Then we can move further."

"Sleep here? In the middle of the forest floor? With a ton of f-ing bugs crawling on me?" I argued.

"This should be nothing to you. You slept in a strigoi infested house for days." He said. Then that part of me that always wished to prove myself to Dimitri kicked in.

"True. And actually it should be nice. The leaves would make a good cushiony bed." I said. With my head held high, I sat down on the cold ground and then laid down. When I looked up at him he seemed slightly amused. Then he joined me on the floor, lying next to me. My eyes looked dreamily at his coat. It was very cold in Montana right now, and seeing that cozy jacket made me crave its warmth. Then just like a few years ago when I had lived at the academy, he said,

"You must be cold." Last time I had been in a robe with no shoes, and I had said no…but this time I couldn't resist.

"Yeah. I am," I said through chattering teeth. Dimitri scooted closer towards me, and then wrapped his arms around me, immediately warming me. I didn't realize how much I missed us being together until now. I didn't know if he felt the same way, but the way he was holding me, made me believe that he did.

"Oh, I thought you would just give me your coat." I said jokingly. He pulled back his head to look at me. Then he let go of me and scooted back away.

"Yes. Sorry. Here you go." He pulled off his jacket and handed it to me. Once again his warmth engulfed me. I wrapped my arms around myself and I could sense his eyes on me.

"What?" I asked looking up at him. Longing showed in his eyes so I made a joke of it. "Do you want your coat back? I just thought you would be used to the cold, since you used to live in Russia…the arctic wasteland." I smirked at him, knowing now, that that view on Russia was totally wrong. He just shook his head and shut his eyes. Before I shut my own eyes, I stared at Dimitri a little longer. He still looked like a god to me. Perfect brown hair, perfect muscles, and of course, those perfect lips. I missed them so much! I wanted to reach out and kiss him, but I don't think I could handle the rejection that he would give me, so soon enough I let my eyelids close.

Being the middle of vampire night, it was easy for me to go to sleep fast. I had been tired from all the running and fighting, so I needed sleep.

"Hey little dhampir." The scenery from my first dream suddenly changed to a nice beach. I turned around to meet Adrian's worried gaze.

"Oh Adrian! You have to come get me!" I said. Like I said to Dimitri, I wanted to face my death like a man, and stop running.

"Who took you? Everyone knows that you didn't escape by yourself." At first this whole dream walking thing was really annoying, but now I was happy that Adrian could do this.

"I'm with Dimitri." I said. Jealousy was written all over his face and his voice turned somewhat cold when he said,

"Then you should be fine."

"I am fine, but I want you to come get me. Bring the Royal Court guardians with you. Tell them where I am at." I said pleadingly.

"Well where are you?" he asked.

"About an hour away from the Royal Court if you walk. It's in a forest to the west of the Court, I think."

"Okay. I'll be there soon."

"And hurry! We are leaving in the morning. Oh and don't forget to bring some guardians!" I yelled just as the dream was fading.

I woke up with a start and sat upright to wait for Adrian to show. I made sure that I would not wake up Dimitri because then he would probably move us someplace else before Adrian even got here.

The sun was slowly going down on the horizon to start a vampire day. I knew that the guardians were going to come for me, and I wasn't scared of them really...but I was scared of the psi hounds. If they found me, they would most likely rip me apart slowly, whereas when I get executed, it will be fast and simple.

It was only a matter of time before darkness fell upon Dimitri and I. I stood up and carefully walked through the crunchy leaves from under the trees canopy. After a few minutes, I finally made it out of the woods. By that time it was pitch dark.

"Rose? Is that you?" I heard a voice from nowhere and I instinctively got out my stake.

"Yeah. Who are you…and where are you?" I asked.

"It's Adrian. And I am right here." Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and I nearly jumped ten feet in the air.

"Holy shit! Don't scare me like that!" I hissed.

"Sorry. So where's Dimitri?" Adrian asked.

"He's in the woo- wait! Where are the guardians?" I asked.

"I didn't bring them."

"Why!"

"'Cause, do you really think that I would bring the people who want to kill my girlfriend?" I glared at him, but he gladly ignored me. "So you never answered my question." He prompted. I sighed before saying anything.

"He's in the woods. He didn't know that I left and doesn't know that you came. We should probably leave now."

"Okay…but don't you wanna say goodbye…this will probably be the last time that you'll get to see him." I knew it was hard for him to admit his words and accept them, so I tried to make it easier for him.

"Nah. Let's just get of here." I grabbed his hand and ran further away from the woods and further away from the Court.

_**Dimitri's POV:**_

Дерьмо! (Crap/shit in Russian) What have I just done? I scooted away as quick as possible then tore off my coat. I handed it to her and watched her wrap her arms around herself. Of course, she caught me looking at her.

"What? Do you want your coat back? I just thought you would be used to the cold, since you used to live in Russia…the arctic wasteland." She joked with me. I just rolled my eyes remembering when she had thought that Siberia really _was_ an arctic wasteland. I shut my eyes, hoping that she would follow my lead. A few minutes later, I opened my eye back up, and I could tell she was asleep.

Instead of trying to catch up on sleep, I just laid there, feeling the cold air against my face. I rolled my head over to one side and looked at Rose. She was still as beautiful as ever.

As I watched her sleep, I noticed that a slight smile was on her face. I figured that sleep was the only place that she found peace now-a-days. Rose had died once, and was therefore, somewhat still connected to death. That must have put a burden on her, which had only gotten worse as time went on. Still, somehow, she managed to always put Lissa in front of her. That was one reason that I didn't believe that Rose was the one to mostly turn me back to a dhampir. I thought that she would've stayed with Lissa instead of going off to Russia, because of how much she wants to take care of Lissa.

Exhaustion soon took me over, and I fell asleep. Later, I heard talking. Without any hesitation, I shot up and noticed that Rose was not near. I ran through the woods, trying to listen to where the voices were coming from, but they had already stopped. There was one thing that had never changed about Rose- her rebelliousness. That was why I thought she had probably just gone off with someone, without telling me. But what if she had been taken away? No, I would've heard her screaming. Then again, she did want to be taken away, so she wouldn't have screamed…she would've just let them take her. That thought, made me pick up my pace. I sprinted out of the forest and looked in every direction. I ran to the right, but I found nothing. Then I went the other way, with my stake in hand. I stopped at the edge of the woods at the furthest end from the Royal Court.

I looked as far as my eyesight would allow me, and sure enough, I saw two people walking. From the distance I was at, I couldn't tell exactly who it was, so I ran towards them. There was a flickering street light that let me see better, and from I was standing, I could tell it was Rose. Her shortness and curves helped me realize that. As for the person beside her, I had no idea. Their backs were turned towards me, but I could still identify him as a moroi. I ran a little a farther, and finally I could tell who it was. Adrian. Even to this day, I still didn't like Rose hanging out with him. He was bad news, and everyone knew that he had a bad reputation. He did seem different with her though…thank goodness! I did not want anyone treating her like she was a blood whore…which actually recently, she did end up being…with him. I hadn't realized how deep a mark I had left on her when I had turned strigoi.

Then, Rose turned around and our eyes met.

"Damn it!" She looked over at Adrian and whispered something that I couldn't hear. I could guess what she was saying though, when all of a sudden, they were both running. It was only a matter of time before Adrian got worn out, so I took it easy, and jogged towards them.

Ten minutes later, I could already tell that Adrian had gotten tired. He stood there bent over catching his breath. I took that opportunity and sprinted over to them as fast as I could. When I finally got to them I said to Rose,

"Why did you leave? You could've told me."

"I left because _you_ were annoying me, and I didn't tell you because you were ANNOYING ME!" she yelled.

"So instead, you go with someone who has no experience in fighting?"

"Adrian is a lot better company than you at the moment, so of course I chose him." Rose said. Adrian smiled at her like all of his dreams had just come true.

"Where do you plan on taking her?" I asked Adrian. His smile faded.

"I don't know…anywhere away from the Royal Court." He said.

"NO! You guys are not my guardians! I can keep myself safe! Stop treating me like I am a kid, and stop taking care of me! I can do whatever the hell I want." Rose yelled. Adrian and I exchanged a worried glance. We both have found out that if she really wants something, she would do anything for it. And right now, she really did _not_ want us around.

"Rose, we are not trying to protect you…we are just helping you out." I said, knowing it was a lie.

"Well, I don't need any help, so you two can just leave." Rose argued. Then Adrian held her face in his hands and kissed her. For some reason, I couldn't watch. I looked at the ground, and when it didn't stop for another minute, I had to interrupt.

"We should probably get going in case the guardians are behind us." They broke apart, and Rose gave Adrian a quick smile before turning towards me.

"It seems like someone is a little jealous." Adrian said to Rose. She looked at me with a smirk. "But who wouldn't be jealous of me when you are kissing me like that? They laughed together. Hearing Rose's laugh made me smile. I hadn't heard it in so long.

"Well, we should go now." Rose said.

"Where to?" Adrian asked. Then Rose said,

"Las Vegas."


End file.
